Explanations for forgetting

• Identify the two explanations for forgetting.

  Interference theory and retrieval failure due to absence of cues.
• Outline the interference theory for forgetting.


  Interference refers to when two pieces of information become confused in memory, resulting in one or both pieces of information being forgotten.

  This is likely to occur when the two pieces of information are similar and can be made less likely to occur if there is a gap between learning two similar pieces of information.
• Outline the interference theory for forgetting.


  Proactive interference refers to when old information interferes with new information, resulting in the new information being forgotten.

  E.g. a person may struggle to recall their new phone number because they keep recalling their old number.
• Outline the interference theory for forgetting.


  Retroactive interference refers to when new information interferes with old information, resulting in the old information being forgotten.

  E.g. a teacher may have learned so many new names of students this year that they forget the names of the student they taught last year.
• Outline the retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting.


  When we store/code a new memory, we also store information that occurred around it such as the way we felt or the place we were in.

  This means that if we cannot recall a memory, it could be because we are not in the same emotional or environmental state as when we learned it. 

  Retrieval failure therefore occurs when information cannot be recalled because appropriate cues/triggers are absent
• Outline the retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting.


  One type of cue are state-dependent cues which refer to how being in the same bodily state (e.g mood) when storing and recalling a memory might improve recall.
• Outline the retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting. 


  Another type are context-dependent cues which refer to how being in the same environment when storing and recalling a memory might improve recall.
• Outline the retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting.


  A final type are category-dependent cues which refer to how thinking about the wav in way in which information was organised/categorised might improve recall.
• Evaluate the interference theory for forgetting: supporting evidence. 


  Group A were asked to learn a list of word pairs (e.g. cat-table) before being asked to learn a second list of word pairs where the second word was different (e.g. cat-glass). Group B, on the other hand, were asked to learn the first list of word pairs only. They found that group B's recall of the first list of word pairs was more accurate than group A's. This is a strength because it suggests that learning the second list of word pairs interfered with participants' ability to recall the first list of word pairs.
• Evaluate the interference theory for forgetting: more likely to be demonstrated in laboratory research than in real-life situations. 


  This is because most of the research has involved participants recalling random lists of words. This is a limitation because this fails to represent the information remember in day-to-day life such as people's faces, your favourite holiday etc. where memories are more likely to have an emotional clement and are therefore less likely to be interfered with and forgotten.
• Evaluate the interference theory for forgetting: research studies have demonstrated the effects of interference in everyday situations. 


  Rugby players try to remember the names of the teams they had played so far in that season, week by week. The results showed that accurate recall did not depend on how long ago the matches took place.

  It depended on the number of teams they had played in the meantime, This is a strength because it suggests the names of the teams the rugby players had played more recently interfered with the names of the teams they had played before.
• Evaluate the interference theory for forgetting: practical applications. 


  Education research advises students to avoid revising similar material within a short space of time. This is because interference is more likely to occur when the two pieces of information are similar and learned within a short time of one another. This is a strength because it shows the value of the interference theory in everyday life, such as when students are revising for exams.
• Evaluate the retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting: supporting evidence


  Participants learn material when either drunk or sober and then tested their recall when either drunk or sober. They found that their recall was better when they were in the same bodily state i.e. they were better recalling the information when drunk if they learned it when they were drunk. This is a strength because it supports the claim that the absence of state-dependent cues can result in forgetting.
• Evaluate the retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting: supporting evidence

  Divers learn a list of words either on land or underwater and then tested their recall either on land or underwater. They found that their recall was better when they were in the same environment i.e. they were better at recalling the information under water if they had learned it underwater and were better at recalling on land if they had learned the words on land. This is a strength because it supports the claim that the absence of context-dependent cues can result in forgetting.
• Evaluate the retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting: may not be as important as suggested.


  This is because contexts must be very different before an effect is seen. For example, learning something in one classroom and recalling it in another classroom is unlikely to result in much forgetting because the environments are not very different. This is a limitation because it may fail to explain much of the forgetting that occurs in everyday life.
• Evaluate the retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting: practical applications


  The cognitive interview is a technique used by police officers to obtain more accurate and detailed information from witnesses. One technique used in the cognitive interview is context reinstatement where police officers instruct the witness to mentally recreate an image of the situation they witnessed. This is a strength because this technique, which aims to reinstate context-dependent cues, has been found to produce more accurate recall.